Playhouse on Park adds mature play series

Published 1:06 pm, Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Dawn Loveland is directing Naomi Wallace's provocative coming of age drama "The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek" as part of the new "On the Edge" series at Playhouse on Park in West Hartford May 15 to 18.

Dawn Loveland is directing Naomi Wallace's provocative coming of age drama "The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek" as part of the new "On the Edge" series at Playhouse on Park in West Hartford May 15 to 18.

Photo: Contributed Photo, Connecticut Post

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The new "On the Edge" series at Playhouse on Park that was launched with Kieran Mulcare in "Red Light Winter" (above) is continuing with the Depression era coming of age drama, "The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek" which is being presented May 15 to 18. less

The new "On the Edge" series at Playhouse on Park that was launched with Kieran Mulcare in "Red Light Winter" (above) is continuing with the Depression era coming of age drama, "The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek" ... more

Photo: Contributed Photo, Connecticut Post

Playhouse on Park adds mature play series

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A series of bold, adult plays that was launched with Adam Rapp's "Red Light Winter" earlier this season is continuing at Playhouse on Park with Naomi Wallace's "The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek," which opens a four-day run on Thursday, May 15.

The coming-of-age tale, set during the Great Depression, will close out the venue's "On the Edge" series, which director Dawn Loveland said last week has been so successful that it will be expanded next season.

"We wanted to do newer, edgier work that we didn't have to include as part of our main season -- plays we are really passionate about," Loveland said of the West Hartford playhouse's new initiative.

"When we were thinking of titles, my mind immediately jumped to Naomi Wallace's play. I was introduced to it when I was at Middlebury College in the 1990s," she said.

"Trestle" follows two young people who plan to race across a railroad bridge against an oncoming locomotive. The plan triggers what the playhouse calls "dangerous passions ... (in) a world where people struggle to change lives that bear down upon them."

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"We've been having a great time with the play," Loveland said of her rehearsal work with the actors. "You don't need a huge dramatic set, so it fits perfectly in our intimate space. It's a story about people."

The playhouse is suggesting that the play be attended by those 16 and older. "There's not a lot of what I would call overt mature material, but the style and the themes are mature," the director said.

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Although the play might not be widely known in a commercial sense, Loveland said the Wallace script is very popular on campuses around the country.

"College theater departments love this play because the (young) characters and the story are so strong," she said. "I feel really lucky to be doing it because I suggested it right away and they said, `yes.' "

The regular productions at the playhouse generally get three-and-a-half weeks of rehearsal, but the "On the Edge" shows have been budgeted for a shorter preparation time.

"We've been working fast and furious, but the actors came in knowing their lines because they were already familiar with the material," she said.

Loveland and the other members of the artistic staff at Playhouse on Park are grateful that their new program has been so well supported right from the start.

"We were thrilled with the ticket sales for `Red Light Winter' and the great response we had from the audiences at the performances. People appreciated the fact that we were trying to do something a little different," she said.

The "On the Edge" shows will be expanded to two weekends next season, and Loveland said she is already looking forward to directing David Mamet's provocative sexual harassment drama "Oleanna" as part of the series.